Zimbabwe Cricket has banned its national team cricketers Wesley Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta for four months for recreational drug use.
On January 25, the Zimbabwean duo received sanctions. They had admitted to the drug use during a disciplinary hearing on January 17. In an in-house dope test in December, they tested positive for a banned recreational drug. Along with the ban, they also face a fine of 50 per cent of their salaries for three months starting January 2024.
"ZC has a zero tolerance towards drugs and drug taking and, in imposing the sanctions, the Disciplinary Committee considered that drug taking was a serious offence and that the breach by the two players had brought the organisation and the game of cricket into disrepute," a ZC release stated.
"In taking the decision, the Committee also considered some mitigating factors, with both players showing remorse and having already started working on withdrawing from the habit and getting their systems clean."
Along with Medhevere and Mavuta, Kevin Kasuza tested positive for the use of a banned recreational drug. Kasuza’s hearing has not taken place yet but he has been suspended from all cricketing activities effective immediately.
23-year-old Madhevere and 26-year-old Mavuta made their last international appearance against Ireland in a home limited-overs series against Ireland. Madhevere did not feature in the ODIs whereas Mavuta did. Madhevere has represented Zimbabwe in two Tests, 36 ODIs and 60 T20Is. Mavuta who made his international debut in 2018 has played four Tests, 12 ODIs, and 10 T20Is so far.
On the other hand, Kasuza's last international appearance was in 2021 in a Test match against Pakistan. So far, he has played seven Tests. His most recent appearance on the cricket field was in a first-class match. He scored a century for the Mountaineers against the Eagles earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe toured Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series including three ODIs and as many T20Is. After losing the ODI series 0-2, they lost the T20I series 1-2. However, Sikandar Raza-led Zimbabwe registered their first-ever T20I win over Sri Lanka in a thrilling encounter that went till the penultimate ball of the match.
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